Geo-visualisation for local resource planning- A Free / Libré / Open Source Approach

7/25/2019 Geo-visualisation for local resource planning- A Free / Libr / Open Source Approach.

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Geo-visualisation for local resource planning-A Free / Libr / Open Source Approach.

Dissertation submitted to the School of Environmental Sciences,Mahatma Gandhi University in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the

award of

Master of Science inEnvironment Science an Management

during Fourth Semester

By

!aisen. ". #.Reg No: 130608

Under the guidance of

#r. $. %. &amachanraEnergy & Wetlands Research Grou

!entre for Ecological "ciences#ndian #nstitute of "cience

Bangalore$

School of Environmental Sciences

Mahatma Ganhi 'niversit(

)otta(am.

%une 008$


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'his Wor( is dedicated to:

$he *eople


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Declaration

I, Jaisen. N.D. hereby declare that the work presented in the dissertation

entitled Geo-visualisation for local resource planning - A Free / Libr / Open Source

Approach. is a Free / Open Source project completely, and no proprietary software

tools or softwareplatformis used in any part of this work. This project is submitted

to the School of Environmental Sciences, Mahatma Gandhi University in partial

fulfilment of the requirement for the award of the degree of Master of Science in

Environment Science and Management is a genuine record of the work I carried

out at Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore under

the supervision of Dr.:T. V. Ramachandra, during 2008 (February to June) and no

part of this work has formed the basis for the award of any degree, diploma or any

other similar titles of any Universities.

Place: Bangalore Jaisen. N.D.

Date:


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CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the dissertation entitled Geo-visualisation for local

resource planning - A Free / Libr / Open Source Approach is an original work done

by the candidate, Mr. Jaisen. N. D. in CES, IISc, Bangalore under the supervision of

Dr. T. V. Ramachandra, Energy & Wetlands Research Group, CES, IISc., and no part

of the dissertation has formed the basis for the award of any degree, diploma or

any other similar titles of any other University.

Place: Dr. A. P. Thomas

Date: (Professor & Director)

SCHOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

MAHATMA GANDHI UNIVERSITY Tel : 0481-2732120, 2732620

PRIYADARSINI HILLS P.O., Fax : 0481-2732620

KOTTAYAM- 686 560, KERALA, INDIA. E-mail: [email protected]


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Abstract

73rd and 74thamendments of Indian constitution have strengthened the

rural and urban local bodies all over the country, significantly. The role of localbodies in local resource planning is increasing, ever than before. In the context of

rural local bodies, the Panchayat Ra system and grama sabhas become

institutionalised by 73rdconstitutional amendment, and converted them to true

decision ma!ers in plan and development activities "hich serve local needs.

This "or! is an attempt to develop a simple spatial decision support

system, suitable for local area planning and developmental endeavour. #$## is

developed using %ree&'ibr(&)pen #ource soft"ares, as free soft"ares grant ultimate

freedom for it*s users to alter and to ma!e further modifications to adapt it for their

added demands. This ensures the technical feasibility and economic viability for

planning at decentralised levels "ith a capability to visualise decisions before

implementation.

i


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Acknowledgement

I express my heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Dr. T. V. Ramachandra,

Centre for cological !ciences, Indian Institute of !cience, "angalore who

introduced this topic to me and, for his guidance, constant attention, critical

suggestions and personal encouragement in doing this work.

I take opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. #.V. $urura%a,

!udhira.&.!., 'ttam #umar, "oominathan. (, #arthick. ", and !indhu )rasanna and

all other mem*ers of nergy and +etlands Research $roup, i*rarian and staff at

Centre for cological !ciences, Indian Institute of !cience, "angalore for their kind

ad-ice, suggestions, and help during the pro%ect.

I express my sincere thanks to all the faculty mem*ers of !!, (ahatma

$andhi 'ni-ersity, especially to our Director Dr. A. ). Thomas, Dr. . V. Ramasamy,

Dr. Annie (athai, Dr. Retnamma for their kind suggestions and encouragement. I

would also like to thank to Rakesh. ). !, o*y )aul, !ylas, ". A%aykumar, my dearest

classmates, alumni and all other mem*ers of !! family for their encouragement

and help.

(y heartfelt thanks to (r. !ameer Thahir /Co0ordinator1 and (r. "alakrishna

)illai /(em*er1 of I'$ 0 Cochin, for clearing my dou*ts on setting up De*ian

$2'3inux and configuring )ostgre!4.

I express my sincere gratitude to Vimal oseph, Ani-ar Ara-ind, )ra-een. A,

and !anthosh Thottingal along with all other fellow mem*ers of !wathanthra

(alayalam Computing, for their timely help on resol-ing software related pro*lems

during the pro%ect.

I ha-e no words to express my sincere thanks to (r. !a%ith V. #. /$eo0

informatics di-ision, #TR52, Thiru-ananthapuram1 who helped me to o-ercome

the initial hitch on $RA!! $I! and introducing me to -arious 6ree 3 5pen source

geo0-isualisation tools, and without his encouragement and supporti-e mind, the

entire pro%ect might ha-e *een impossi*le.

+ithout adopting a gi-e and take policy with the user groups and mailing

lists, a free software pro%ect would *e hard to complete. I here*y mentioning all

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the mem*ers of the the three user groups namely de*ian0user7lists.de*ian.org,

pgs8l0general7postgres8l.org and ka0map0users7lists.maptools.org with deep

sense of gratitude, where I recei-ed timely solutions on the software related

pro*lems. I would remem*er (r. ohan Van de +auw at a*oratory of !oil !cience,

'ni-ersiteit $ent, "elgium, oren9o "ecchi, Alessio Di oren9o, uca Casagrande

and )eteris "runs at ka0map0users7lists.maptools.orgwith gratitude, for their nice

tips on ka0map.

I express my sincere gratitude to . Dinesan, !ree !ankaracharya

'ni-ersity of !anskrit, #alady, who helped me to clarify some dou*ts on the

historical *ackground of the study area.

(y dearest mother, father, sister and other mem*ers of my family ha-e

*een of immense help to me with encouragement. I remem*er them with deep

sense of inde*tedness.

- Jaisen. N. D.

iii
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Contents

Chapter TitlePageNo.

1. Introduction +

+.+. $ecentralised planning +

+.. -eovisualisation

+.3. -I# and -eodatabase 3

+.4. /ategories of soft"are technologies 4

+.4.+. %ree&'ibr(&)pen #ource #oft"are 0

+.4.. Proprietary soft"are 0

+.0. #election of right soft"are tools in the context of panchayats 1

2. Objecties 2

!. "tud# area +

3.+. Physiography +

3.. istory +

3.3. Trivia ++

3.4. Present status ++

3.0. 5griculture, environment and life +4

3.1. Panchayat Ra experiments +1

3.7. $ecision ma!ing in /heruvannur -rama Panchayat +1

3.7.+. -rama sabha and it*s importance +7

3.7.. $evelopment seminar +7

3.7.3. Planma!ing grama sabha +7

3.7.4. /onventional method and limitations +6

$. %eie& o' (iterature

). *asic database concepts 1

0.+. $atabase as a system 7

0.. $esigning databases 7

0.3. Relational data model 70.4. ntity Relationship $iagram 3

0.0. 8ormalisation 3+

0.1. $atabase integrity 3

0.7. /omputer based record !eeping systems 33

0.6. /urrent #cenario 34

0.2. 8eed for local level geodatabase and geovisualisation 34

+. Cartograph#, eo databases and eoin'oratics 30

1.+. 9ap proections 371.. -eoinformatics 4

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Chapter TitlePageNo.

1.3. Recent trends in -I# 43

1.4. -eo database 43

1.4.+. /haracteristics of spatial databases 43/. 0ethodolog# 40

7.+. $ata collection 40

7.. #etting up & upgradation of ard"are 40

7.3. #etting up the soft"are environment 41

7.3.+. Installation of operating system 41

7.3.. Post install configuration of operating system 41

7.3.:a;. 5dding addresses of essential soft"are locations to the

system*s source list' and Post-I# 42

7.3.3:c;. Installation and configuration of -R5## 1..3 07.3.3:d;. Installation of >uantum -I# .2. 0+

7.3.3:e;. Installation of 9ap#erver 0+

7.4. #canning and photographing maps 0+

7.0. -eoreferencing maps 0

7.1. $igitisation of vector layers 07

7.7. /reating database and attribute tables in Postgre#>' 02

7.7.+. Installation of a frontend to Postgre#>' database 1

7.6. /orrection and completion of attribute tables and data entry 17.2. /reating base maps 1+

7.2.+. /reating shaded relief map 1+

7.2.. /reating land use map 13

7.2.3. /onverting the base map tif images to -eoTI% format 13

7.2.4. xporting vector layers as shapefile format 14

7.+. #etting up visualisation 10

. %esults and Discussion 17

. Conclusion 6013. 4uture scope o' &or5 61

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"l. No. %e'erence and Anne6urePageNo.

1. %e'erence 67

2. ANN789%7 - I 2+

!. ANN789%7 - II 2$. ANN789%7 : III 23

). ANN789%7 : I; 27

+. ANN789%7 : ; ++

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(ist o' 'igures

4ig.No. DescriptionPage.No.

+.+. /ategories of soft"ares. 0

3.+. 'ocation of study area. +3.. )ffice of the /heruvannur -rama panchayat. +

3.3. -ovt. Public ealth /entre, 5vala. +

3.4. -ovt. 5yurveda ospital, /heruvannur. +3

3.0. 5ngan"adi centre, 8irappam !unnu. +3

3.1 -ovt. =. P. #chool, /heruvannur. +3

3.7. ?alayarott !avu< 5 sacred grove in /heruvannur. +4

3.6. Parappu@ha Pandi< Paddy field. +4

3.2. 5vala Pandi< Paddy field. +03.+. Auttiyadi river< #cene near 5vala. +0

3.++. #cene from river sand mining site, /haniyam !adavu. +0

3.+. Beir near Aanhira!!uni. +1

0.+. 5 relational database model. 6

0..R $iagram depicting the decision ma!ing process related to

the plan and development activities in -rama Panchayat.3+

0.3. ssential components of a $C9#. 34

1.+. 9ap of /heruvannur grama panchayat sho"ing commonfeatures.

31

1.. The arth surface sho"ing surface irregularity. 36

1.3. arth*s ellipsoid, geoid, and t"o types of vertical deflection 4+

1.4. $ifference bet"een global and local ellipsoids 4

1.0. $esign of a "eb based -eodatabase. 44

7.+. -eoreferencing in -R5## steps. 03

7.. $iagrammatic representation of visualisation setup. 11

6.+. Coundary lines of /heruvannur village in /heruvannur -ramaPanchayat.

17

6../ontours of /heruvannur -rama Panchayat at + meters

interval.16

6.3. 'and use pattern of /heruvannur -rama Panchayat. 16

6.4. Bard boundaries of /heruvannur -rama Panchayat :0;. 12

6.0. Bard boundaries of /heruvannur -rama Panchayat :0+;. 12

6.1. #tream channels :drainage;. 7

6.7. Rivers and ponds. 76.6. Irrigation canals. 7+

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6.2. #acred groves. 7+

6.+.Bater resource development structures & Bater flo" control

structures.7

6.++. #ub "atershed boundaries in Auttiyadi river "atershed area. 7

6.+. -eneral public facilities D -overnment offices, Ration shops, etc. 73

6.+3. 9edical facilities. 73

6.+4. ducation facilities. 74

6.+0. /hild development 5ngan"adi centres. 74

6.+1. /ommunication facilities. 70

6.+7. nergy D position of transformers and .T. 'ine. 70

6.+6. Roads. 71

6.+2. Place names. 71

6.. $9. 77

6.+. #haded relief. 77

6.. #haded relief map. 76

6.3. Rasterised vector layer land use. 76

6.4. 'and use map land use pattern of the grama panchayat area. 72

6.0.#patial $ecision #upport #ystem for /heruvannur -rama

Panchayat.6

6.1. 'ayer selection D roads and place names. 6+

6.7. Identify and Euery facility. 6+

6.6. #earch facility. 6

6.2. $isplay at scale D +


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1. Introduction

1.1. Decentralised planning:

The word decentralisation indicates the presence of something at the

centre, from there it may be dispersed. The planning and developmental activity

carried out through decentralised way is referred as decentralised planning.

Governments favour the concept of decentralisation because it implies the hope of

opening the blockages of an inert central bureaucracy, giving more direct access

for the people to the government and the government to the people, which

essentially stimulate the entire nation to participate in national development plans

(Mahwood, !!"#. $ecentralisation is a natural indispensable counterpart topluralistic democracy, that is, it e%tends the work of democracy and fulfils

democratic aspirations (&eddy, '.. ) abelo, T., !!*#. +%periments in

decentralised planning in many parts of the world show that this way of approach

has the capacity to serve local needs. $ecentralisation significantly changed public

investment patterns in olivia. Throughout the country, investment changed

unambiguously in education, water and sanitation, water management, agriculture

and urban development after the !!- reform. nd these shifts are strongly and

positively related to real local needs. /n education, water and sanitation, water

management, and agriculture, post0decentralisation investments are higher where

illiteracy rates are higher, water and sewerage connection rates lower, and

malnutrition a greater risk, respectively (1aguet, 2.'., 344-#.

/n /ndia, ideology of decentralisation by the term gram swaraj was

introduced by Mahatma Gandhi, in pre0independence age. ut e%periments on

decentralisation were taking place in isolated places of the country even before

independence, especially in parts of the states of 5arnataka and 5erala (aito, 6. )

5ato, &. 3447#.

mbitious decentralisation efforts have been started nationwide, after

passing a series of amendments in the constitution. The passing of the *" rd and

*-thconstitution amendments came in to effect in !!", which institutionalised and

empowered the rural representative bodies 8 the 'anchayats (2ohnson, 6., 344"#.

+ventually, decentralised planning started to mediate through panchayats.


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The *"rd amendment to the constitution of /ndia delegated power to its

states to pass acts to establish grama sabha and panchayat ra9 system with two or

three tiers and to transfer powers to them (*- thamendment is related with urban

local bodies#. This gave birth to acts related to panchayat ra9 nationwide, and

established the local self government institutions in the states spanning from

village, intermediate, and district levels. +stablished as the "rd stratum of

governance in /ndia, with constitutional provisions, panchayats and grama sabhas

have to take different sorts of decisions on developmental activities and implement

them.

$ecision making on developmental activities, entail planning that depends

upon the availability of reliable and accurate data. $ata re:uired for natural

resource planning is spatial data such as, information of physiography of the area,

land use, what assets where situated, what ever things are affected with a

particular pro9ect or decision etc., with an attribute information. Geographic

information system (G/# with a capability of handling spatial data helps in the

analysis and visualisation of results effectively, and aids decision making process.

patial visualisation of all the important assets, general physiography of

the area, land use etc., based on a geo0database will be an added support fordecision makers. s the imagination power and knowledge in different sub9ects

varies from person to person, there may have chances of communication gaps

between different stake holders.

There are many live e%amples around the world, of successful usage of G/

for solving decision making problems especially in the field of planning for

e%ample, those in various authorities in Greece, Germany, and 'ortugal (Masser

etal, !!;#. /n /ndia, there are online map services and G/ based information

systems for few regions like Mumbai metropolitan area and


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assumptions or hypotheses, and through this way, it help the user to develop

solutions for problems and construct knowledge, particularly on a defined

geographical area.

5ey parts in a geo0visualisation are maps (spatial data#, associated attribute

data and linked graphical visualisation. /t is a set of hardware and software tools

and techni:ues which support geo0spatial data analysis through the use of

interactive visualisation.

Geographic visualisation or geo0visualisation is defined as The interface

between cartography and scientific visualisation, and between technology for

mapping and ways in which mapping can facilitate geographic thinking

(Mac+achren, . M. and Monmonier, M. !!3#.

Geo0visualisation has been developed essentially with the help of G/. G/,

Geo0database and Geo0visualisation are increasingly used in various fields, a few of

them are

. $ata storage and distribution alternatives

3. +nvironmental studies.". Military > /ntelligence applications

-. Multimedia development

?. &econstruction of historical events and settings

;. /nformation systems and planning

1.3. GIS and Geo-database:

Geographical /nformation ystem (G/# is a computerised system, and its

primary purpose is to help to maintain data about geographic space ($e y, &,

344#. /t is a set of tools for collecting, storing, retrieving at will, transforming, and

displaying spatial data from the real world for a particular set of purposes

(urrough '.. !7;#. /n other words, G/ is a computer system to capture, store,

check, integrate, manipulate, analyse and display the data related to positions on

the earth@s surface.

G/ is in use for various fields, namely town and country planning, haAard

analysis, geology, mining, forestry, hydrology etc for handling information in a

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spatial conte%t. G/ is a logical arrangement between geographic features and

attribute data. o it has two ma9or parts, one for generating, analysing and

representing geographic features and the other is a database, which stores the

geographic features along with attribute data.

eing a computer based system, G/ essentially deals with softwares. G/

software fall into two ma9or branches, proprietary G/ (like rcG/, +&$ /MG/B+,

Map/nfo etc# and the wide array of 1ree > Cpen ource counterparts like G&,

DuantumG/, G, GMT, etc.

G/ softwares have inbuilt database management system, and more often

also have some provisions to connect with an e%ternal $M. The data related to

the geographical features are stored in $M, as attribute tables and records, and

these data are linked with the geographical features via a key field. Geo0database

is a specific type of database, which store representations of geographic

phenomena in the real world to be used in a G/ ($e y, &, 344#.

1.4. Categories of software tecnologies:

There are two ma9or categories of technology development and distributionmodels, in the world of softwares. The model of proprietary softwares, share wares

and closed0source ones, and 1ree > EibrF > Cpen ource and public domain software.

1urther sub0categories are also there, inside these ma9or categories. 1igure .

provides differences among these categories.

-


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1igure . 6ategories of softwares.

(/mage courtesy 6hao05uei, www.fsf.org#

1.4.1. !ree"#ibr$"%pen Source Software:

. 1ree software free software is that comes with permission for anyone to

use, copy, and distribute, either verbatim or with modifications, either

gratis or for a fee (www.fsf.org# and essentially the source code of the

software is available.

3. Cpen source software s per the open source initiative, Cpen source is a

development method for software that harnesses the power of distributed

peer review and transparency of process. The promise of open source is

better :uality, higher reliability, more fle%ibility, lower cost, and an end to

predatory vendor lock0in (www.opensource.org#.

/n common practice, 1ree, Cpen source and allied classes of softwares are

grouped as one, and referred to as 1ree>EibrF>Cpen ource oftware and

abbreviated as 1EC or 1C. The active user communities and developer

communities around the globe are peculiar for this group of software.

1.4.2. &roprietar' software:

'roprietary softwares are 6omputer programs which are the legal property

?
http://www.fsf.org/http://www.fsf.org/http://www.opensource.org/http://www.fsf.org/http://www.opensource.org/http://www.fsf.org/


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of one party, the use of which is made available to a second or more parties,

usually under contract or licensing agreement (tate administrative manual, $ept.

of General ervices, tate of 6alifornia#. 6ontrary to free softwares, proprietary

softwares are with restrictions on use or private modification, copying, or

publishing of modified versions.

1.(. Selection of rigt software tools in te conte)t of panca'ats:

1actors that decide the adoption of a particular software technology for

planning at rural decentralised levels in public sector are

. 1inancial affordability The technology should be financially affordable and

suitable for the panchayats considering the plan outlay for local bodies.

Most often, any of the 1EC software for even specific uses are available

free of charge. ome times the choices to select are more than one. 1or

e%ample, $ebian GBH > Einu%, a free operating system, comes with 7*""

(www.debian.org# pieces of software for a variety of uses. eing these

softwares are available free of charge, and come with a liberal license

agreement (6hen hun0ling, 344;#, they are financially affordable.

3. &eliability &eliable technology need to be adopted to minimise the running

cost and allow the users to solve the problem themselves. /n the case of

reliability of operating systems, GBH>Einu%, is more stable than proprietary

counterparts according to studies (Iheeler, $. .#. GBH>Einu% is free

software, and many of its flavors are available without a hitch. These

include the distributions like $ebian GBH>Einu%, which take the factor of

system stability with a higher importance, available free of cost and used

by a wide range of users of varying fields including educational institutions,

commercial firms, non0profit organisations, and government organisations.

". upport 1or an effective local area planning, the technology should have

enough technical support at all levels from the developer to the end user.

upport from user communities and from the people who develop the 1C

software, spanning throughout the globe is an added advantage of free

software. Hsers and developers are available on web forums, mailing lists,

and on /&6 channels to help out new users.

;
http://sam.dgs.ca.gov/TOC/4800/4819.2.htmhttp://sam.dgs.ca.gov/TOC/4800/4819.2.htmhttp://www.debian.org/http://sam.dgs.ca.gov/TOC/4800/4819.2.htmhttp://sam.dgs.ca.gov/TOC/4800/4819.2.htmhttp://www.debian.org/


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-. ecurity The data security forms an important component in adopting

particular technology and the technology should be free of any bugs and

security holes. 1EC is considered to be less vulnerable than proprietary

softwares, because the source code is accessible (&edners tryckeri, 344"#.

Ihoever want to look at the code, they can. 'eople can check for any flaws

in code, and found if any, can report a bug in bug tracking systems, and

which are :uickly repaired by the developer community. 'eople can even

develop their own solution for the security flaws they found and submit it to

developers. There are more eyes, heads and hands are involved in this

baAaar style development model, than the proprietary cathedral model.

More eyes make fewer security flaws.

?. 6ommunity culture The panchayats and grama sabhas, with different

committees, beneficiary groups etc, present a community driven

development model, which necessitates interoperable model. The support

for 1EC softwares are mainly through user groups and developers

communities, rather than from commercial firms. The users and developers

around the globe act as a global community, within which they share ideas

to solve the problems and to make the software they use even better. This

nature is very much similar to the participatory development model ofgrama panchayats, a model in which people share the ideas by

communicating with each other, discussing, debating and selecting the

right choice for them.

;. 6omply with the current policy of the governmentThe technology need to

comply with the present polices of stand 3ndstratums of governance as

panchayats are an integral part of the governance system in /ndia, along

with union government, and state governments.

*. /n /ndia, the union government has setup a Bational &esource 6entre for

1ree ) Cpen ource oftware in 6hennai 9ointly with 60$ac and nna

Hniversity, with an ob9ective to contribute to the growth of 1ree and Cpen

ource oftware in /ndia (/nformation Technology nnual &eport, 344*0

3447#. The /nformation technology policy of state government of 5erala

emphasises that 1ree oftware presents a uni:ue opportunity in building a

truly egalitarian knowledge society and further says 1ree and Cpen

ource oftware will be used in all government funded /6T e0Governance

*


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pro9ects to the ma%imum e%tent possible and intends to develop the

tate as the 1C destination in the country (/nformation Technology 'olicy

$ocument, 344*#.

vailability of a wide range of softwares free of cost, including G/ tools is

an added advantage of 1EC model. /t gives choices and options to select the

most suitable, from the available.

The current endeavor focuses on the development of a geo0database and

geo0visualisation based decision support system for panchayats using 1EC for

planning and development activities at panchayat level.

7


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2. Objectives

Main objective of this endeavor is to develop appropriate geo-visulisation for an

effective local level planning with the open source spatial information systems.

Free / Libre / Open Source !S software tools and Free operating system is used

mainly to be economically viable and also to comply with the current ! " #olicies of

the government. "his endeavor involves$

%. &reating a geo-spatial database 'for &heruvannur rama #anchayat(

compiled from locally available data sources.

). *eveloping geo-visualisation of basic themes in pre-defined scales+ basedon the geo-database+ using open source spatial information systems+

suitable for decision ma,ing and planning at disaggregated levels.


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3. Study area

Figure 3.1: Location of study area

3.1. Physiography:

Cheruvannur, one of the 78 grama panchayats of Kozhiode district, !ies

"et#een $orth Latitude 11% 3&' 37.11( and 11% 3)' *.)7(, +ast Longitude 7% *-'

&).3&( and 7% *3' .&&( Figure: 3.1/. 0t has a tota! area of &1.)1 suare

i!ometers. 2he adoining grama panchayats are Thiruvallur and Velom in the

north, Perambra in the east, Nochad, Meppayur, and Thurayur in the south,

Maniyur and Thiruvallur in the #est. 2he Kuttiyadiriver Figure 3.1-/, erst#hi!e

no#n as Kottariver is f!o#ing from north to south, through the eastern side,

detaches the grama panchayat from 4adaara ta!u. 2he physiography is not

p!anar. 2he ridges of sma!!er and medium hi!!s and !o# !ying va!!eys mae the areaan undu!ating terrain. 5rama panchayat can "e divided into three, according to the

physiography 6 viz, hi!!y area, s!opes and va!!eys. 2he highest area in grama

panchayat is Purakkamala/ noted #ith a height of 11 metres a"ove sea

!eve!. Cheruvannur 5rama panchayat inc!udes some of the !o#est !ying p!aces of

the region, and parts of these areas are often f!ooded during monsoon.

3.2. History:

Formed in the year 13* it is one of the o!dest grama panchayats in the

state. 2he area has a !ong history of human sett!ements. hat stone / 9

1-


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mega!ithic "uria! monument 9 "e!ongs to rough!y a period of 3-- .C. to -- .;

5anesh, K.


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criteria set up "y the @tate +!ection Commission, #hich finds the "asics of increase

in popu!ation, increase in the num"er of househo!ds etc.

2he tota! popu!ation of Cheruvannur grama panchayat is &&1- and num"er

of househo!ds are *))3 Census &--1/. 0t has a good connectivity of &7.*77

i!ometers of paved and .)7- i!ometers of unpaved roads. tota! num"er of )

ponds 1&.)& i!ometers of irrigation cana! is present no#.

Figure 3.&: Affice of the Cheruvannur 5rama panchayat.

0n hea!th sector, peop!e of Cheruvannur 5rama ?anchayat have accessi"i!ity

to the three systems of medicine "y the presence of 1 5ovt. ?BC Figure: 3.3/,

three F centres, 1 5ovt. yurveda Bospita! Figure: 3.*/ and a 5ovt. Bomeopathy

dispensary. tota! num"er of &- ngan#adi centres Figure: 3./ serve the chi!d

#e!fare part very #e!!.

Figure 3.3: 5ovt. ?u"!ic Bea!th Centre, va!a.

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Figure 3.*: 5ovt. yurveda Bospita!, Cheruvannur.

Figure 3.: ngan#adi centre, $irappam unnu.

0n education sector, 1- !o#er primary schoo!s, three upper primary schoo!s,

1 high schoo!, 1 higher secondary schoo!, 1 un9aided schoo! are present, and

among them 1 >. ?. @choo! Figure: 3.)/, 1 L. ?. @choo!, high schoo! and higher

secondary schoo! are in 5ovt sector.

Figure 3.) : 5ovt. >. ?. @choo!, Cheruvannur.

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3.5. Agriculture, environent and li!e:

Avala pandipaddy fie!d hosts numerous migratory "irds each year. @acred

groves are p!aces of #orship and at the same time, traditiona! method of eco!ogica!

conservation Figure: 3.7/. ?!ace has a immense activity in agricu!ture particu!ar!y

in rice cu!tivation. 2he area has a good potentia! for eco9tourism, #ith its scenic

"eauty not no#n much outside Figures: 3.8, 3., 3.1- and 3.1&/, connectivity of

roads, sensi"!e peop!e, essentia! communication and medica! faci!ities.

2he maor source of income for the peop!e !iving near"y river, is sand

mining from the Kuttiyadi river Figure: 3.11/. @and mining activity is contro!!ed "y

grama panchayat, district co!!ector, and district !eve! kadavu committee oint!y.

2his is the maor income source to o#n fund for grama panchayat a!so.

Figure 3.7: 4a!ayarott avu: sacred grove in Cheruvannur.

Figure 3.8: ?arappuzha ?andi: ?addy fie!d.

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Figure 3. : va!a ?andi: ?addy fie!d.

Figure 3.1-: Kuttiyadi river: @cene near va!a.

Figure 3.11: @cene from river sand mining site, Chaniyam adavu.

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Figure 3.1&: eir near Kanhirauni.

3.". Panchayat #a$ e%perients:

2he 73rdand 7*thamendments to the constitution of 0ndia gave "irth to to

the Kera!a ?anchayat =a ct 1* rep!acing Kera!a ?anchayat ct 1)- and

associated acts and ru!es, and esta"!ished a three tier ?anchayat =a system and

!oca! se!f government institutions in the state spanning to vi!!age, "!oc, and

district !eve!s. mong these, grama panchayats have more importance as theyhave a!most a!! the important components of a modern government. 2hey have a

!egis!ature, an eDecutive, authority to impose and co!!ect taDes and to enforce "ye

!a#s, administration and financia! po#ers, and a!! these mae them true !oca!

governments. 2he ne# act and ru!es empo#ered the grama panchayats #ith

financia! po#ers even more. eing a part of 3rdstratum of governance in 0ndia, and

empo#ered #ith various civi!, uasi9udicia! and administrative po#ers over a

defined geographica! area, the administrative "ody of a grama panchayat has to

tae different sorts of decisions and imp!ement them.

3.&. 'ecision a(ing in )heruvannur *raa Panchayat:

;ecisions on day to day activities re!ating to the grama panchayat are taen

"y the ?resident, @ecretary, heads of institutions under grama panchayat

nneDure: 1/, other imp!ementing officers, administrative committee, finance,

deve!opment, #e!fare standing committees, various su"9committees at different

!eve!s.

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3.&.1. *raa sa+ha and its iportance:

For deve!opmenta! activities, the process of decision maing is done "y

grama sa"ha, a permanent statutory "ody descri"ed in the constitution of 0ndia. 0n

Kera!a scenario, grama sa"ha meetings are officia! #ard !eve! meetings, usua!!y

headed "y #ard mem"er E president. +ach e!ector resides in #ard are the de9facto

mem"ers of grama sa"ha, and these meetings tae p!ace * times in a year, and

the interva! "et#een t#o grama sa"has #i!! not eDceed ) months. uorum for

grama sa"ha is 1-G of the tota! num"er of e!ectors of that #ard Kera!a ?anchayat

=a ct, 1*/. 0f it not satisfied, grama sa"ha is postponed to another convenient

day.

ard mem"er is the convener of the grama sa"ha and coordinators for

each grama sa"ha #ou!d "e one among the staff from any of the institutions under

the grama panchayat, as decided "y administrative committee on the advice of

grama panchayat secretary. ;ates for the grama sa"has in each #ard are a!so

decided.

3.&.2. 'evelopent seinar:

0n the first grama sa"ha, t#o or three representatives #i!! "e se!ected and

send to forthcoming panchayat !eve! deve!opment seminar. short "oo!et is

prepared, printed and distri"uted "y the administrative committee, in deve!opmentseminar as draft p!an document in deve!opment seminar. ;raft p!an document

contains the detai!s of state p!an funds a!!oted for the grama panchayat ear9

mared for each deve!opmenta! sectors as pu"!ished in state's "udget anneDure,

the detai!s a"out o#n fund in grama panchayat's accounts, a draft out!ine of the

proposed proects for that financia! year. !so, a "rief ora! introduction is given "y

the ?anchayat president and mem"ers. 0n the deve!opment seminar the

representatives from grama sa"ha are fed #ith some ideas, and in neDt grama

sa"ha, they perform in the ro!e of resource persons to !ead the group discussions.

3.&.3. Plan-a(ing graa sa+ha:

2he second grama sa"ha is a 'p!an9maing' grama sa"ha, in #hich more

often draft p!an document undergo open discussion, and heavy modifications.

2here may occur a de"ate on the performance of the grama panchayat in different

deve!opmenta! or administrative sectors on "eha!f of the grama sa"ha, some times

may !ead to open criticism. 2he convener and coordinator are supposed to respond

to each of them. fter this, peop!e are divided into different groups of "eneficiaries,

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open discussions and de"ates taes p!ace on the topics, and proposa!s for

a!terations, insertions, de!etions and additions are suggested on the draft p!an

document and read in grama sa"ha meeting. 2hese suggestions are approved

oint!y, or #ith modifications du!y recorded in grama sa"ha minutes. fter ending

up the grama sa"ha meetings in a!! #ards, a!! the decisions of grama sa"has are

compi!ed, draft is changed according to it and fina! p!an proect document is

prepared for the year, "y the administrative committee and staff.

2he copies of fina! p!an document are sent to 2echnica! dvisory 5roup

2..5/, a "!oc !eve! eDperts group and to ;.?.C. ;.?.C or ;istrict ?!anning

Committee is a statutory "ody, #hich acts as the representative of the state, to

approve the p!an documents of panchayats.

2he fina! p!an document is not an unchangea"!e one, as the grama sa"ha

reserves the right to mae modifications to it, in any of its fourth coming sittings.

@ome times p!an document undergo fund adustments as per the avai!a"i!ity of

funds.

+ven if a!terations in minor detai!s of these #ho!e process may vary from

time to time depending on the region it taes p!ace, or as per the guide!ines of thestate government, the out!ine of the #ho!e process remain same.

3.&.4. )onventional ethod and liitations:

2o formu!ate the p!an proects severa! documents are used at various !eve!s.

For agricu!tura! schemes, deve!oping infrastructure etc, documents !ie #atershed

"ased deve!opment master p!an, resource maps, road register are used for getting

"ase data. >sing the detai!s from these documents, the teams formu!ate p!an

proects. s a!! these documents are avai!a"!e in office of the grama panchayat,

formu!ation of detai!s of p!an proects are done in grama panchayat itse!f. 2he

conventiona! method is fine, "ut has some dra#"acs, indeed as discussed "e!o#:

1. ne# entrant, most pro"a"!y coordinators of gramasa"ha/ to these

processes norma!!y tae some time to understand the genera! physiography

of the area, !and use, assets and !ocation of assets, and a!so imp!ications of

a particu!ar proect or decision.

&. s the no#!edge in different su"ects varies from person to person, there

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are chances of communication gaps "et#een different stae ho!ders !eading

to #rong decisions.

3. ?roect "eneficiaries and decision maers usua!!y thin on!y a"out the

"enefits of their proposed #or, #ithout a ho!istic approach. 2his practice

can't "e effective!y tac!ed do#n in conventiona! method.

*. ?anchayat resource maps are often in 1: *---, or 1: --- sca!es, and often

* or !arge sheets. 2hese sheets are difficu!t to hand!e in discussion

sessions. @earching and carrying a!! the documents re!ating to a p!an

proect to the des one "y one and p!acing "ac each of them #ou!d "e a

tedious tas.

. 2he process of p!anning and imp!ementing of a proect is a time "ound one,

if it isn't finished, the funds a!!otted go !apse. @o there is a tendency to

ho#ever prepare p!ans proposed in grama sa"has #ithout referring a!!

documents concerned, to avoid the !apse of funds, the open uestioning

may essentia!!y arise in the very neDt grama sa"ha and po!itica! fai!ure.

2hese disadvantages can "e addressed #ith the use of techno!ogy to aneDtent. ?resenting essentia! detai!s of the resources through spatia! visua!isation

#ith the he!p of techno!ogy, #ou!d support the decision maing process. 2he

modern techniues of 5eographica! 0nformation @ystems 50@/ and geo9

visua!isation can "e used for such a move. 2here are many successfu! efforts in the

various parts of the #or!d using 50@ and 5eo9visua!isation for so!ving rea!9!ife

pro"!ems and for decision maing, especia!!y in the fie!d of p!anning. ?resence of a

comprehensive geo9data"ase #i!! serve as a no#!edge "ase of grama panchayat

#hich can "e app!ied for its administrative, civi!, and other various uses. Autcome

of such a move #ou!d give rise to even "etter decisions, and essentia!!y a "etter

future.

0n the !ight of a!! these, an effort has "een made to deve!op a geo9

visua!isation for Cheruvannur 5rama ?anchayat, adopting FLA@@ as a decision

support system in the p!anning activities.

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4. Review of Literature

Menno-Jan Kraak (2002) demonstrated the usefulness of geo-visualisation and how

this technology can stimulate the visual thought process. his was done !y

applying geo-visualisation techni"ues to Minard#s famous map the $%arte figurative

des pertes successives en hommes de l# &rmee 'ranaise dans la campagne de

ussie *+*2 - *+*, which depicts the invasion of apoleonic forces into ussia.

/M is used for creating ,1 model of event settings. he study shows that much

more information can !e revealed when using geo-visualisation techni"ues rather

than using conventional views. 3ork shows that even if Minard data already have

!een discussed much earlier a visualisation stimulate a kind of visual thinking and

generate more information !y that way.

4rewer et al. (2000) e5amined the possi!ilities of a prototype of same-time 6

different-place colla!orative geo-visualisation environment taking the fact that

most of the works with geospatial data in any field like ur!an and environmental

planning etc. 7eographic visualisation environments and related information

technologies are generally developed !y a map view which allows colla!orators to

manipulate a ,-1 depiction of precipitation and temperature which varies with

terrain. 8sers were allowed to control parameters of a time series animation and

color scheme used to represent the data. he visualisation is set up with a

com!ination of Java6Java,1 tools namely /is&1 Java class li!rary 9i!!ard

1:M/iewer &rc7rid &;%


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decision making activities. hey have taken special emphasis to the situations

where colla!orators are interacting at distant places from one another. & prototype

of an e5tension for an e5isting single-user geo-visualisation is developed as part of

9uman-:nvironment egional ?!servatory (9:?) pro>ect#s


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may need to !e developed. 8sa!ility engineering e5tends !eyond the traditional

cartographic practice of #user testing# !y evaluating software effectiveness

throughout a life cycle (including design development and deployment).

Mac:achren and Kraak. (200*)discussed a!out the ma>or research challenges in

geo-visualisation which are=

*. %hallenges on visual representation=

i.) o develop a theory for georepresentation and formalising representation

methods.

ii.) o develop new forms of representation that support the understanding of

geospatial phenomena and space-time process.

iii.) o adapt representation methods to meet the changing nature of data to!e represented.

iv.) &dapting representation methods to the increasing range in kinds of task

that visual geospatial representations must support.

v.) o take advantage of recent technological advances in !oth hardware and

data formats.

2. /isualisation-computation integration=

i.) o develop visual approaches to geospatial data mining thus to using

visual methods for uncovering unknown patterns and relationships in large

geospatial data sets.

ii.) o integrate visual and computational tools that ena!le human and

machine to colla!orate in the process of knowledge construction.

iii.) o address the engineering pro!lems of !ringing together disparate

technologies each with their own esta!lished tools systems data

structures and interfaces.

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appropriate to geo-visualisation environments.

vi.) o develop a comprehensive user-centered design approach to geo-

visualisation usa!ility.

D. %ognitive6usa!ility


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the 4erlin virtual ,1 city model !ased on the system for integrating managing

integrating presenting and distri!uting comple5 ur!an geoinformation. he pro>ect

was initiated !y the ;enate 1epartment of :conomics and the ;enate 1epartment

of 8r!an 1evelopment. &s first applications the virtual ,1 city model forms core

part of the investor information system hosted at the 4erlin 4usiness ocation

%enter and it represents the !asis for ongoing pro>ects in city planning at the

architecture working group of the ;enate 1epartment of 8r!an 1evelopment. he

4erlin virtual ,d city model is developed with %ity7M a first open data model and

FM-!ased format for storage and e5change of virtual ,1 city models availa!le.


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warned road section. he third case descri!es a process of modeling ecological

!arriers !y a list of landuse and landcover elements and their impact on animal

movement. he findings of this study are !ringing in e5pert knowledge is one of

the crucial points in developing the pro!lem-specific maps which assist decision

making process. he use of e5ploratory geo-visualisation tools help to study the

ecological landscape and alternative approaches for landuse. geo-visualisation

provides a wide set of tools and processes to interact and work with spatial data.

2B


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5. Basic database concepts

A Database is a logically arranged collection of information so that retrieval

of information from a database in a presentable form, is easy with the application

of optimised set of queries. Data is stored in databases in the form of tables. Tables

are the collection of records and they are essentially, structures composed of rows

and columns. Each row contains related data, which denotes a record or tuple and

each column contain same type of data, which is generally called as field or

attribute. Data is a form of representation of knowledge, in a broader sense, or a

piece of un-synthesised information. sually data refers to the raw information

which could be some numbers, images, characters, words, etc. The difference

between data and information is given in Table !.".

Data InformationCheruvannur

Grama Panchayat

2001

22150

The estimated total population of

Cheruvannur Grama Panchayat is 22150,

as per the 2001 census.

Table !."# differences between data and information.

The term metadata refers to the data about data and generally provides

supplementary information such as $who collected the data%, $data source%, $how

the data was collected%, etc. Data elements are basic units of information

containing a set of values which points to a single fact. &t can be located and

e'tracted from data. &n the above conte't, $(ame of )ocal Authority% is a data

element. Data type is an attribute to the data that describes what kind of data is

that. Datatypes can be classified into three#

". *imple data+

. omple' data and

. *pecialised data

E'amples for simple data types are strings, numbers, date and time etc.

omple' data types are ob/ect data types, which may vary according to different

relational databases. &t may include reference pointers, collection arrays and user

defined data types.

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*pecialised data types may include multimedia ob/ects, spatial data, 'ml

documents etc. A term Domain is used to denote a collection of unique things.

They are a set of allowed values in a field of a table.

5.1. Database as a system: &n these days, databases are more or less

computerised, and the terms $Database% and $Database management systems%

are used vice-versa, to denote each of them. Even they are related they differ from

each other, slightly. A Database management system is something which manages

a database. &t is essentially a software, in the case of a computerised database.

Database management systems which are in use today, are relational database

systems. or, 1D23* in short. A database management system has to achieve

some goals#

1. llo! users to create ne! data"ases and specify their lo#ical

structure of data,

2. Permit the users to $uery the data %ept in, and to modify it.

&. 'upport the stora#e of lar#e amounts of data.

(. Control access to many users at the same time, !ithout affectin# the

transactions one another.

5.2. Designing databases: Databases are designed by meeting some general

rules. There are some fi'ed design models like $1elational data model% for

designing a database.

5.3. Relational data model: &n this model, the database is considered as a

collection of relations. A database may contain more than one relation. Tables are

linked by type of relations 4parent-child, etc.5. A table consists of rows and

columns, and each row represents a combination of data values. These rows

denote the real world relationships, while the column denote how the attribute

information. A simple representation of relational database model is given in 6igure

!.".

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6igure !."# A relational database model

Attributes, columns or fields are of same meaning in a relational database. All of

these terms are used to denote a field in a table. 1ecords, rows or tuples are used

to denote a record in a database table. A table may have multiple fields and set of

fields can have many records created in that table. Data could be accessed

according to field structure of the table, record by record. The relational data model

was first developed by an &23 researcher named E. 6. odd which is popularly

referred as E. 6. odd8s rules. odd9s rules are#

". The information rule# Data should be presented to the user in a tabular

form.

. :uaranteed access rule# All data should be accessible without any

doubtfulness.

. *ystematic treatment of ()) values# A field should be able to keep itself

empty. ()) value is different from an empty string or ;ero. &t is a valueless

state.


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presenting data.

!. omprehensive data sub language rule# A database should support any one

of clearly defined languages for inserting, manipulating, deleting, updating

data. 3ost of the present day databases support *>) query language for

the above said purpose.

0. ?iew updating rule# Data can be presented in different logical combinations

called as views. This rule states that users can update the data through

these views as efficiently as by updating to the original tables. 2ut in

practical side, no any present day D23* fully complies this rule.

7. @igh )evel &nsert, pdate, and Delete# This rule states that, data can be

retrieved in sets of data which may have more than one row, and or from

more than one table. &nsertion, deletion and updation can be done to

multiple rows of data, which may, be present at one or more than one

table.

=. Bhysical data independence# The user should be isolated from physical

method of data storage. hanges can be made to the base physical systemof database, without affecting the users accessibility.

C. )ogical data independence# Even if the logical structure of a database is

changed, the view of data to the user should remain as before. 3ost of the

present day databases are having rigid connections with the logical

structure of database and its views, and so, doesn8t obey this rule.

".&ntegrity independence# The >uerying )anguage is supposed to impose

some constrains on user, in order to maintain database integrity. &n practice,

this rule is not fully implemented. 2ut as a common practice, primary keys

cannot have a ()) value, and if there is a foreign key is set in a table, its

values must e'ist as a foreign key in any other table.

"".Distribution independence# A user should be unaware of whether the parts

of the database are located in one place, or in more than one place. This

rule is rather difficult to implement.

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".(o subversion rule# There should not be any other way to modify the

physical structure of database, other than querying language. This rule also

is not satisfied well today, as many databases have :& interfaces which

allow direct manipulations on database.

These rules are considered as guidelines today, because no any present day D23*

complies with all these entire " rules.

5.4. Entity Relationship Diagram:

Entity relationship diagram is a graphical way of database modeling. They

are called as E-1 Diagrams in short. E-1 Diagrams have three principal

components. These are

". Entity sets,

. attributes and

. 1elationships.

An entity relationship diagram has four types of components, they are#-

". 1ectangles used to denote entity sets.. Ellipses used to denote attributes.

. Diamonds used to represent relationship sets and


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6igure !.# E-1 Diagram depicting the decision making process related to the plan

and development activities in a :rama Banchayat.

Data are organised in such a way to eliminate duplication of data and also for

sensible data dependencies. This process is often known as data normalisation.

5.5. ormalisation: Database normalisation is a process of efficiently organising

data in a database for eliminating duplication and redundancy of data and making

sensible data dependencies. This process reduces the amount of space a database

consumes, and ensures that data is logically stored. &t is a kind of standardisation

or to impose consistency with respect to the style and content. 1emoval of

duplication tends to minimise redundancy. &n practical approach, normalisation

"

Coordinator

Citizen n

Convenor

Grama Sabha

Finance

StandingCommittee

Panchayat

Administrative

Committee

Development

StandingCommittee

Welfare

StandingCommittee

Implementing

officer

Oo

Grama panchayat

DecisionDecision

Decision

Decision

Decision

!ember n

Secretary

President

!ember n!ember "

District

Planning

Committee

#echnical

AdvisoryGro$p%&loc'(

Secretary Staff n

Instit$tion %n(

$nder

Grama Panchayat

Staff n

!ember n!ember "

Decision

Citizen "


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manage to divide information into smaller, more manageable parts. The benefits of

normalisation are#

i.5 Bhysical space needed to store data is reduced.

ii.5 Data becomes better organised.

iii.5 (ormalisation allows changes to small amounts of data 4namely single

records5 to be made to one table at once.

(ormalisation are stated in terms of normal forms. These are a series of guidelines

for ensuring the databases are normalised. They are numbered as " to


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i. Entity integrity# Bresence of primary key in a table, defines the entity

integrity. &f primary keys are defined for each entity, it will follow the

entity integrity rule.

ii. Domain integrity# Domain &ntegrity is achieved if column of table is kept

within its allowable limits. This is achieved by keys and constraints.

iii. referential integrity# 1eferential &ntegrity is achieved by the integrity of

relationships between primary and foreign key values in related tables

of a database. Databases achieve referential integrity by the effective

integration of constraints. Brimary and foreign keys are both constraints.

A constraint is a metadata, defined on a table defining restrictions on

values. 6or e'ample, a primary key constraint makes the primary key

field to be unique.

5.%. &omp'ter based record (eeping systems:

As its name denotes, D23* is a system made up with different components,

works all together, to achieve the above goals. Database has a distinct

architecture. A simple schematic diagram of a D23* is shown in figure !..

>uery processor# The function of this component mainly deals with thetranslation of requests from users, into low level operations.

Transaction manager# &t manages the transaction of data between the

database and the users.

*torage manager# &n common situations, the storage manager is nothing

but, the operating system itself.

6ile manager# 6ile manager, as its name denotes, keeps track of location of

files on the storage media, and retrieves clusters of files when requested by

buffer manager.

2uffer manager# &t handles main memory and obtains clusters of data from

storage media from file manager and keeps those clusters in a part of main

memory.


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6igure !.# Essential components of a D23*

5.). &'rrent *cenario: Databases are used in various fields today 4for e'ample#

ensus database5. &n governance and decision making, it is increasingly appear the

prominence of databases for different types of uses. *patial databases are

designed for keeping track of the land revenue activities and are referred as

geodatabases or geo-spatial databases.

5.+. eed for local le,el geo-database and geo-,is'alisation: A

comprehensive spatial geo-database will serve as knowledge base of panchayats

which can be applied for its administrative, civil, and other various uses. Broperly

implemented, an interactive database-searching can provide decision makers with

instant access to high value information for use in time consuming, costly and

comple' planning and implementation activities. 43ohamed, 3.F. G Appalanaidu,

.2., "CC=.5

seful for navigational

purpose.

6roections are made using datums and spheroids and ellipsoids, assuming

that the shape of earth in the area on the surface on earth, is a particular spheroid

or ellipsoid, using datums.

Geoid:The e:uipotential surface of the earth's gravity field which est fits,

in the least-s:uares sense, mean sea level (Geodetic Glossary, *ational

Geodetic 0urvey%.

$pheroids:A three dimensional :uadric surface derived from rotating an

ellipse aout one of its principal a4es. Three instances of a spheroid are8 ".

prolate spheroid (0hape of a rugy all%, $. olate spheroid (similar to the

shape of the earth% and 9. sphere (symmetric%.

!llipsoid:A :uadric surface which is a higher dimensional analogue of an

ellipse. >sed as a surface of reference for the mathematical reduction of

geodetic and cartographic data (?..A. Technical manual /9/."%.

A set of constants specifying the coordinate system used for geodetic control, i.e.,

for calculating the coordinates of points on the earth (Geodetic Glossary, *ational

Geodetic 0urvey%. There are two types of datums namely8

%ertical datum: A vertical datum is a set of constants specifying the

coordinate system to which elevations are referred (7ederal Geographic

9#


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?ata !ommittee handoo%.

&oriontal datum:A horiDontal datum is the set of constants specifying

the coordinate system to which horiDontal coordinates are referred (7ederal

Geographic ?ata !ommittee handoo%.

?atums and spheroids differ one another in parameters. A datum may not

completely coincide with geoid or with the real earth surface (7igure8 2.9%. A

spheroid est defines ndia may not e good for other countries. Fence, each

country has its own datums and spheroids which fits est when depicting their

region. athematical parameters of all these spheroids vary each other. Their

datum centres not necessarily would coincide with each other, or with the centre of

earth (7igure 9.3%. Two e4amples for datums are8". !'erest datum:)verest datum is in use for ndia and adacent countries

for cartographic activities. *amed after 0ir George )verest, and derived in

"/9;, since then in use as the asis for all types of control surveys in ndia.

This datum is the result of the Great Trignometric 0urvey of ndia. t is

centred near Kalianpur in adhya 6radesh, under the earth surface, ut its'

ellipsoidal centre does not coincide with the centre of the earth. 0till,

)verest is the est fitting spheroid and mathematical surface for ndia, ut

cannot e e4tended very far from it's origin.

$. (G$ )*: The @orld Geodetic 0ystem is called as @G0 /3. t is the

reference system used y the Gloal 6ositioning 0ystem. t is an earth-fi4ed

gloal reference frame and geocentric datum, gloally consistent within "

m. The @G0 /3 originally used the G0 /; reference ellipsoid, ut

undergone some minor refinements several times after its initial

pulication. The last revision of @G0 /3 was in $;;3, and will e valid up to

$;";.

3;


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7igure 2.98 )arth's ellipsoid, geoid, and two types of vertical deflection (0ource8

@iipedia. )nhanced version of an image otained from >. 0. ?epartment of

?efense%

7igure 2.38 ?ifference etween gloal and local ellipsoids.

3"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WGS84http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:GRAVIMETRIC_DATUM_ORIENTATION.GIFhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WGS84http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:GRAVIMETRIC_DATUM_ORIENTATION.GIF


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6.+. Geoinformatics

Traditional methods of map maing and map reading is changing, and giving the

way to more interactive and intelligent forms of geographic information stored in

computer systems. The information of the surface, susurface and atmosphere of

the earth and, the information received through the analysis of data are referred as

geo information all together. The art, science, or technology dealing with the

ac:uisition, storage, processing, production, presentation and dissemination of geo

information is referred as geoinformatics ()hlers and Amer, "##"%.

G0 is the acronym for Geographical nformation 0ystems. G0 are sets of computer

tools for the storage, retrieval, analysis and display of spatial data (=urrough, 6.A.,

$;;"%. *ow a days, G0 is a field of convergence from numer of disciplines,

namely, Geography, !artography, emote sensing, 6hotogrammetry, 0urveying,

Geodesy, 0tatitics & Eperational esearch, athematics, !omputer science, etc.

A G0 can answer many specific :uestions, lie8

@hat is at a specific locationH

@here is itH

@hat spatial pattern e4ists thereH

@hat change has occurred sinceH

@hat will happen if an event happens in some wayH etc.

The maor components of a G0 include, Fardware, 0oftware, Geographic

data and 6ersonnel. The operations a G0 can mediate include, ?ata capture (input

& verification%, ?ata storage (storage & management%, ?ata analysis and modelling

(updating manipulating and analysis% and ?isplay (data output and presentation%.

G0 use two maor inds of digital data models to handle spatial information -

ector and aster. y which the points, lines, areas and surfaces are coded digitally.

ector data8 n vector data model, an 4, y (cartesian% coordinate system references

real-world locations and each location is recorded as a single 4, y coordinate. n this

model, spatial data is handled as points, lines, areas, oundaries and centroids.

6oints and centroids are recorded as a single coordinate, lines and oundaries are

recorded as a series of ordered 4, y coordinates and areas are recorded as a series

of 4, y coordinates. ?efining line segments which enclose an area, termed as

polygon, means 'a figure with many sides'.

aster data8 The raster data model is used for handling surface information. it

wors as a regular grid of dots or s:uare cells (pi4els% filled with values.

3$


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6.. -ecent trends in G$:

". any G0 dataases are now distriuted over local or wide area networs.

$. ultimedia and hypermedia will play a growing role in G0, especially in

help and training systems.

9. n governance, etter decisions can done in case of land use, land revenue

informations.

3. The integration of G0 and G60 will provide more accurate and precise

information in temporal dimensions.

. n-vehicle navigation systems will provide a clear picture of traffic of an

area.

2. n nternet, geographic we searching will help more precise searching of

local details.

6.*. Geodatabase:A geo dataase, either called as spatial dataase is defined as

a dataase system that offers spatial data types in its data model and :uery

language, and supports spatial data types in its implementation, providing at least

spatial inde4ing and spatial oin methods (GIting, .F., "##3%.

6.*.1. Characteristics of spatial databases: >sually, spatial data are lined

with attriute data in the form of standard data that any dataase can handle. 0o,a spatial dataase can handle all standard data modelling and :uerying tass

along with, additional capailities to handle and inde4 spatial data. t can provide

efficient algorithms for spatial oin. n all standard G0, there are underlying spatial

?=0Js, ut most of them have limited capailities to handle standard data.

A spatial dataase can manage the data related to geographic space

($?


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relationships are maintained, as it can handle :ueries such as, to find all oects in

a given relation. ueries may e,

a. toplogical such as inside, intersect or adascent,

. directional such as aove, elow, or north of, or

c. metric such as distance L$;; etc.

A spatial dataase should have the capaility to integrate geometry into the ?=0

data model. This means that it could represent spatial oects y oects of the

usual ?=0 data model with at least one spatial data type attriute. A ?=0 can

e transformed in to spatial ?=0, y integrating following e4tensions to it8

". epresentations for data types of a spatial algera.

$. 6rocedures for atomic operations.

9. 0patial inde4 structures.

3. Access operations for spatial indices.

. 0patial oin algorithms.

2. !ost functions for all these operations.

1. 0tatistics for estimating selectivity of spatial selection and spatial oin.

/. )4tensions of the optimiser to map :ueries into the specialised :uery

processing methods.

#. 0patial data types and operations within data definition and :uery

language.";. >ser interface e4tensions for graphical


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7. Methodology

Development of effective geo-visualisation based decision support system

(DSS) involved primarily data compilation from collateral sources, setting up

appropriate hardware configuration, design of database and design of a spatial

DSS.

7.1. Data collection:

Data collected from various government sources includes:

1. esource maps of panchayat, both in the form of hard copy and digital copy.

!. "anchayat #sset egister $ (Details of roads, lanes, culverts, bridges andother constructions.)

%. &ocal Self 'overnment nstitutions lection - *ard de-limitation documents.

+. ensus of ndia - District ensus and boo.

/. *atershed #tlas $ State &and 0se oard.

2. *atershed based development master plan $ loc "anchayat.

3. "anchayat citi4ens5 charter.

Data is collected primarily from office of the heruvannur 'rama "anchayat

itself. 6eatures lie roads, landuse, water resource polygons, water resource lines,

place names, etc were e7tracted from resource maps. Survey of ndia toposheets

1:!/8888 (+9) was used to digitise talu boundaries. *ith the help of this map, a

talu map with village boundaries was georegistered. ;oposheet of 1:!/888

(+9


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7.3. Setting up the software environent:

7.3.1. !nstallation of operating syste:

;he installation of the Debian '=0D


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7.3.2#'$. (etwor) and internet configuration:

nternet connection is a must, to upgrade the system as and when updates

are released, to download the reuired software tools and to be in communication

with mailing lists and free software users community. onfigured the networ and

internet settings by editing the configuration file /etc/network/interfaces as

shown in anne7ure-> , and restarting the networ daemon by issuing the following

command in terminal:

# /etc/init.d/networking restart

dited the file /etc/hoststo mae it as appears in the anne7ure-> and issued

the following command in terminal:

# echo localhost.ces.iisc.ernet.in > /etc/hostname

#dded name server address to file /etc/network/resolv.conf

estarted the system. #fter restart, issued the following commands in

terminal as follows:

$ hostname

localhost.ces.iisc.ernet.in

$ hostname -f

localhost.ces.iisc.ernet.in

oth commands returned the host name. =etwor configuration is complete.

7.3.2#c$. Set*up for +nicode Malayala support:alayalam is the mother tongue and administrative language of the people

of the study area. n order to enter and handle data in alayalam, 0nicode

alayalam support is necessary. #t present, Standard '=0


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standard free operating systems. 6ollowed the instructions given in the website of

S and applied the commands as follows to get these patches applied in system.

;hese commands will update the system with patches, and if latest updates of

other softwares installed are available, upgrade them:

# wget http://download.savannah.gnu.org/releases/smc/praveen.key.asc

# apt-key add praveen.key.asc

# apt-get update

# apt-get upgrade

# apt-get install scim-ml-phonetic

"urpose of adding "raveen5s (@ne among the proEect administrators of

S.) '"' public ey to the ey-ring of apt, is to ensure the authenticity of

pacage, and to confirm that nobody has changed the pacages in repository after

he did.

7.3.2#d$. ,penSSH:

6or the security of passwords through internet, SS and @penSS is

installed by issuing the following command in terminal:

localhost:/home/user# apt-get install ssh openssh-server

7.3.3. !nstallation and configuration of essential softwares for the

proposed wor):

;he details of software tools used for the wor are listed in anne7ure->.nstallation of software which are part of Debian tch are done with the command:

# apt-get install

#mong the software pacages used, '#SS 2.!.%, alayalam "atches,

Cuantum 'S 8.9.8, and a-ap 1.8 are not part of Debian tch system, and these

need a separate installation and configuration.

+F
http://download.savannah.gnu.org/releases/smc/praveen.key.aschttp://download.savannah.gnu.org/releases/smc/praveen.key.asc


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7.3.3#a$. %pache we' server and php:

# woring web server and php, are necessarily installed on system. #pache

is used as web server. php is a server-side, ;&-embedded scripting language,

designed for producing dynamic web pages. #pache and php are installed by

issuing the following commands:

# apt-get install apache2 apache2.2-common

# apt-get install php php-common li!apache2-mod-php php-pgs"l

# apt-get install php-d!

# /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

7.3.3#'$. !nstallation of "ostgreS- and "ost!S:

"ostgreSC& is an open source, fully featured obEect-relational database

management system which can be used for storing attribute data. "ost'S adds

support for geographic obEects to the "ostgreSC& obEect-relational database.

nstallation is done via following commands:

# apt-get install postgres"l-. postgres"l-client-.

# apt-get install postgis postgres"l-.-postgis od!c-postgres"l

heced whether "ostgreSC& is running or not, by issuing:

# /etc/init.d/postgres"l-. restart

onfigured "ostgreSC& as it can be used for the user user, via issuing following

commands:

# su

# su postgres

# ps"l template

# template%# &"

# eit

# su postgres

# ps"l

# ()*+,* )* user0 1,3 45 678*)76*)9

# +,*) )* user0 1,3 8+661) ';;;;;;;;'9

# &"

# eit

t is needed to ensure whether the client encoding is 0nicode, as 0nicode

+9


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(0;6F) support is needed to handle data in traditional alayalam scripts. 6or

checing this, issued:

$ ps"l

# 631 client


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'#SS is started in terminal by issuing:

$ grassA2

#n icon is made for '#SS on Destop, for easy access.

7.3.3#d$. !nstallation of -uantu !S ..:

Downloaded the .deb pacages for tch from Cuantum 'S website and

installed via 'Debi pacage installer by right clic and select @pen with B'Ddebi

pacage installer?.

#n icon is made also for Cuantum 'S on Destop, for easy access.

7.3.3#e$. !nstallation of MapServer:

0= apServer is used for setting up geo-visualisation. apServer is an

open source development environment for building spatially-enabled internet

applications. apServer, and associated pacages lie php-apScript (#

dynamically loadable module that maes apServer5s apScript functions and

classes available in a "" environment.), php-gd ('D module for php) etc are

installed by issuing command:

# apt-get install mapserver-!in cgi-mapserver php-mapscript php-gd

7.4. Scanning and photographing aps:

i. S.,.! 5oposheets:;he Survey of ndia toposheets +9 (1:!/8,888 scale)

and +9


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'eoreferencing is done with '#SS via following steps:

6igure 3.1: 'eoreferencing in '#SS - steps.

(Source: 'D6 annover b)

1. reated an 7,y location tempyand mapset userin '#SS database with

default grid resolution settings, following on-screen directions of '#SS.

!. hanged into the '#SS 7,y location, and converted scanned tif images of

maps to '#SS format by issuing commands as follows:

4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > r.in.gdal in%CEm.tif out%CEm

4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > r.in.gdal in%CEmFse.tif out%CEmFse

4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > r.in.gdal in%taluk.tif out%taluk

4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > r.in.gdal in%resource.Gpeg out%resource

%. #fter e7iting from 7,y location, restarted '#SS and created a &at-&ong

location with settings as follows:

ocation: cheruvannur

Hapset: user

*llipsoid: everest EA

8roGection: atitude-ongitude

north: :C 5

south: :BF 5

east: I:BF *

west: IA:FF *

east-west resolution : F:FF:F

north-south resolution : F:FF:F

;hen e7ited from the &at-long location.

/%


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+. 'eoreferenced the toposheets in '#SS by the use of following sets of

commands:

i.group - ;o collect raster map layers in an imagery group.

i.target - ;o target the imagery group to '#SS lat-long location and

mapset.

i.points - ;o mar the ground control points on image to be rectified.

and

i.rectify - ;o rectifiy the image by computing coordinate

transformation for each pi7el in the image based on the

control points.

Started '#SS again with 7,y location tempyand mapset user, and issued

following commands:

i.group:

4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > i.group group%CEm su!group%CEm &

input%CEm.redJCEm.!lueJCEm.green

4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > i.group group%CEmFse su!group%CEmFse &

input%CEmFse.redJCEmFse.!lueJCEmFse.green

4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > i.group group%taluk su!group%taluk &input%taluk.redJtaluk.!lueJtaluk.green

4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > i.group group%resource su!group%resource &

input%resource.redJresource.!lueJresource.green

i.target:

4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > i.target group%CEm &

location%cheruvannur mapset%user

4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > i.target group%CEmFse &


4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > i.target group%taluk &


4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > i.target group%resource &


i.points:

;o initialise a '#SS monitor, issued:

/+


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4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > d.mon start%F

Selected the +9 toposheet, and added ground control points by issuing:

4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > i.points CEm

n the '#SS monitor, selected the raster file to be plotted, 4oomed to

centre pi7el of lat-long cross hairs and placed control points. #fter this analysed for

root mean suare error, as it to be within 4ero. #fter adding + '"s correctly, uit

the screen. epeated this process for the +9 g.region rast%CEm.!lue.rectified

Selected and loaded the CEm.!lue.rectified raster image from menu

and comparing with the image taluk.tif, 18 '"s are selected along the talu

boundary, noted down their coordinates, and e7it from '#SS.estarted '#SS with 7, y location tempyand mapset userand issued:

//


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Selected the talu map, and added ground control points by issuing:

4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > i.points taluk

#dded points via same as the process described in case of toposheet +9,

and analysed for root mean suare error, and ensured it to be within 4ero. #fter

adding 18 nown '"s, uit the screen. ectified the talu map with following

command:

4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > i.rectify group%taluk &

input%taluk.!lueJtaluk.greenJtaluk.red & etension%.rectified order%

'eorectification of talu map is complete. 7ited from '#SS.

estarted '#SS with &atitude - &ongitude location cheruvannur and

mapset user. #dEusted the region and resolution with following command:

4)+66 A.2.B cheruvannur?:D > g.region rast%taluk.!lue.rectified

Selected and loaded the taluk.!lue.rectified raster image in map

display from menu and, four '"s which lie e7treme north, east, south and west

ends of village (grama panchayat) along the boundary line were selected. =oted

down their coordinates. 6ollowed by issuing command:

4)+66 A.2.B cheruvannur?:D > g.region rast%CEmFse.!lue.rectified

Selected and loaded the CEmFse.!lue.rectified raster image in map

display from menu, ma7imum number of '"s could identify (+% nos) were

selected and noted down their coordinates, comparing with the image

resource.Gpeg, and photographed original resource map sheets in an image

viewer. ;hen e7ited from '#SS.

estarted '#SS with 7, y locationtempyand mapset user,and issued:


Selected the resource map map, and added ground control points by issuing:

/2


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4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > i.points resource

#dded all the selected +% points via same as the process described in case

of toposheet +9. #nalysed for root mean suare error, and removed 18 points

among them, those gave more error, as to ensure the error to be minimum and

points are spread uniformly over the area. #fter this, uit the screen. ectified the

resource map map with %rdorder transformation via following command:

4)+66 A.2.B tempy?:D > i.rectify group%resource &

input%resource.!lueJresource.greenJresource.red &

etension%.rectified order%B

'eorectification of resource map is complete. 7ited from '#SS.

7.. Digitisation of vector layers:

6or digitising vector layers, following method is adopted:

Documents

Geo-visualisation for local resource planning- A Free / Libré / Open Source Approach